Recharge Your Tesla and Your Body While on the Road

Published: 07 September 2014

While driving between Phoenix and Los Angeles, I often stop to refuel my mind and soul at Carl's Jr. in Quartzite. I see that Tesla Motors has made a deal with local franchisees of fast food and hotels across the country to begin installing Superchargers to make cross-country electric driving possible. Here is the Tesla "station" near the AZ/CA border.

There are six or eight (I forget) Superchargers. Tesla claims 20 minutes on one of these high-power babies will give your car a 50% charge. For those driving from Phoenix to LA and assuming you start out with a full charge, that would be enough to get you well into the greater LA area. And 20 minutes is about right for a food stop, making this a smart place to locate a charging station.

Behind the wodden box above is the big-ass transformer that supplies the high-current needed for a quick charge. You can see they ran power lines special for this installation. I am sure Tesla paid for it all, plus rental on the space, making you wonder how much it costs to outfit enough charging stations across the country. Remember, most Tesla buyers get lifetime free charging at sites like these. So Tesla needs to strike a balance between cost and future car sale profits.

Considering "range anxiety" is one of the key blockers for those who would otherwise like to buy an electric car, I love this kind of private/private partnership and look forward to going through the drive-thru in a Tesla of my own some day.